National Basketball League side Melbourne United and the NBL have "long wished to play a game to tie in with the Australian Open but whether that happens this January remains in question," according to Roy Ward of THE AGE. Tennis Australia, the NBL and Melbourne United will make a "special announcement" at Melbourne Park on Wednesday but the details have not been revealed. The club and the NBL have been "looking at ways to play a fixture" at the team's usual home of Hisense Arena at Open time but "it was not clear on Tuesday night if this would be the announcement." Tennis Australia and NBL officials would not comment. It would be a "sizeable" cost for Hisense Arena to be converted from a tennis court to a basketball court and then returned to a tennis court, and "this plus security concerns are believed to have stopped any such game in the past." NBL Owner Larry Kestelman and the league have "long held ambitions to showcase the competition during the tournament, which brings many thousands of visitors to the city" (THE AGE, 12/5).
